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Iti 


\ 


THE GOLD-BUG 


THE YOUNG OF HEART SERIES 


1 . 

2 . 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6 . 


8 . 

9. 

10 . 

11 . 

12 . 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16 . 

17. 

18. 


ILLUSTRATED 


Hero-Chums ... By Will Allen Dromgoole 
The Pineboro Quartette . By Willis Boyd Allen 
One Thousand Men tor a Christmas Present, 

By Mary A. Sheldon 
Daddy Darwin’s Dovecote . By Juliana H. Ewing 
Rare Old Chums . . By Will Allen Dromgoole 

The Drums of the Fore and Aft, 

By Rudyard Kipling 

The Strange Adventures of Billy Trill, 

By Harriet A. Cheever 
A Boy’s Battle . . By Will Allen Dromgoole 

The Man Without a Country, 

By Edward Everett Hale 
Editha’s Burglar . By Frances Hodgson Burnett 


Jess 

Little Rosebud 
His Majesty the King 
The Boys’ Browning . 
Little Tony’s Mission 
The Gold-Bug 
Harum=Scarum Joe 


. By J. M. Barrie 
By Beatrice Harraden 
By Rudyard Kipling 
By Robert Browning 
By Etheldred B. Barry 
By Edgar Allen Poe 
By Will Allen Dromgoole 


The Story Without an End, 

From the German by Carove 

Special Cover Design on each Volume 


Each, Thin 12mo. Cloth. 50 Cents 


DANA ESTES & CO., Publishers, Boston 





“ A TREASURE OF INCALCULABLE VALUE LAY GLEAMING 

BEFORE US.” 


THE GOLD-BUG 


BY 


/ 


EDGAR ALLEN POE 


Ellustratcli bg 
J. W. KENNEDY 



BOSTON 

DANA ESTES & COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 

d 


% 


38445 

Copyright, 1899 

By Dana Estes & Company 


TWOCOflfco rifeCtIVfeD, 



Composition and Presswork 
by Fish Printing Company, Boston 




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

TAGE 

“A TREASURE OF INCALCULABLE VALUE LAY BEFORE 

us” Frontispiece ^ 

“And here Jupiter handed me a note” ... 23 

“‘You SCOUNDREL,’ SAID LeGrAND, ‘WHICH IS YOUR 

LEFT EYE?’” 43 

And now T seemed to grasp the whole secret . 7G 







* 

























t 
























t 




THE GOLD-BUG. 


What ho ! what ho ! this fellow is dancing mad ! 

He hath been bitten by the Tarantula. 

All in the Wrong. 

Many years ago I contracted an intimacy with a 
Mr. William Legrand. He was of an ancient Hu- 
guenot family, and had once been wealthy ; but a 
series of misfortunes had reduced him to want. 
To avoid the mortification consequent upon his dis- 
asters, he left New Orleans, the city of his fore- 
fathers, and took up his residence at Sullivan’s 
Island, near Charleston, South Carolina. 

This island is a very singular one. It consists 
of little else than the seasand, and is about three 
miles long. Its breadth at no point exceeds a quarter 
of a mile. It is separated from the mainland by a 
scarcely perceptible creek oozing its way through 
a wilderness of reeds and slime, a favorite resort of 
the marsh-hen. The vegetation, as might be sup- 
posed, is scant, or at least dwarfish. No trees of 
any magnitude are to be seen. Near the western 


11 


12 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


extremity, where Fort Moultrie stands, and where 
are some miserable frame buildings, tenanted, during 
summer, by the fugitives from Charleston dust and 
fever, may be found, indeed, the bristly palmetto ; 
hut the whole island, with the, exception of this 
western point, and a line of hard,- white beach on 
the sea-coast, is covered with a dense undergrowth 
of the sweet myrtle, so much prized by the horti- 
culturists of England. The shrub here often attains 
the height of fifteen or twenty feet, and forms an 
almost impenetrable coppice, burdening the air with 
its fragrance. 

In the inmost recesses of this coppice, not far from 
the eastern or more remote end of the island, Legrand 
had built himself a small hut, which he occupied 
when I first, by mere accident, made his acquaint- 
ance. This soon ripened into friendship, — for there 
was much in the recluse to excite interest and esteem. 
I found him well educated, with unusual powers of 
mind, but infected with misanthropy, and subject to 
perverse moods of alternate enthusiasm and melan- 
choly. He had with him many books, but rarely 
employed them. His chief amusements were gun- 
ning and fishing, or sauntering along the beach and 
through the myrtles, in quest of shells or entomolo- 
gical - specimens ; his collection of the latter might 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


13 


have been envied by a Swammerdam. In these 
excursions he was usually accompanied by an old 
^egro, called Jupiter, who had been manumitted 
before the reverses of the family, but who could be 
induced, neither by threats nor by promises, to aban- 
don what he considered his right of attendance upon 
the footsteps of his young “ Massa Will.” It is not 
improbable that the relatives of Legrand, conceiving 
him to be somewhat unsettled in intellect, had con- 
trived to instil this obstinacy into Jupiter, with a 
view to the supervision and guardianship of the 
wanderer. 

The winters in the latitude of Sullivan’s Island 
are seldom very severe, and in the fall of the year 
it is a rare event indeed when a fire is considered 
necessary. About the middle of October, 18 — , there 
occurred, however, a day of remarkable chilliness. 
Just before sunset I scrambled my way through the 
evergreens to the hut of my friend, whom I had not 
visited for several weeks, — my residence being, at 
that time, in Charleston, a distance of nine miles 
from the island, while the facilities of passage and 
re-passage were very far behind those of the present 
day. Upon reaching the hut I rapped, as was my 
custom, and getting no reply, sought for the key 
where I knew it was secreted, unlocked the door, 


14 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


and went in. A fine fire was blazing upon the 
hearth. It was a novelty, and by no means an un- 
grateful one. I threw off an overcoat, took an arm- 
chair by the crackling logs, and awaited patiently 
the arrival of my hosts. 

Soon after dark they arrived, and gave me a most 
cordial welcome. Jupiter, grinning from ear to ear, 
bustled about to prepare some marsh-hens for supper. 
Legrand was in one of his fits — how else shall I 
term them ? — of enthusiasm. He had found an un- 
known bivalve, forming a new genus, and more than 
this, he had hunted down and secured, with Jupiter’s 
assistance, a scarabceus which he believed to be totally 
new, but in respect to which he wished to have my 
opinion on the morrow. 

“ And why not tonight ? ” I asked rubbing my 
hands over the blaze, and wishing the whole tribe 
of scarabcei at the devil. 

“ Ah, if I had only known you were here ! ” said 
Legrand, “ but it’s so long since I saw you ; and how 
could I foresee that you would pay me a visit this 
very night of all others? As I was coming home I 
met Lieutenant G , from the fort, and, very fool- 

ishly, I lent him the bug ; so it will be impossible 
for you to see it until the jiiorning. Stay here 
tonight, and I will send Jup down for it at sunrise. 
It is the loveliest thing in creation ! ” 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


15 


“ What ? — sunrise ? ” 

“Nonsense! no! — the bug. It is of a brilliant 
gold color, — about the size of a large hickory nut, — 
with two jet-black spots near one extremity of the 
back, and another, somewhat longer, at the other. 
The antenncc are — ” 

“Dey aint no tin in him, Massa Will, I keep 
a-tellin’ on you,” here interrupted Jupiter; “ de bug 
is a goole-bug, solid, ebery bit of him, inside and all, 
sep him wing, — neber feel half so hebby a bug in 
my life.” 

“Well, suppose it is, Jup,” replied Legrand, some- 
what more earnestly, it seemed to me, than the case 
demanded, “is that any reason for your letting the 
birds burn ? The color ” — here he turned to me — 
“is really almost enough to warrant Jupiter’s idea. 
You never saw a more brilliant metallic lustre than 
the scales emit, — but of this you cannot judge till 
tomorrow. In the mean time I can give you some 
idea of the shape.” Saying this, he seated himself 
at a small table, on which were a- pen and ink, but 
no paper. He looked for some in a drawer, but 
found none. 

“ Never mind,” said he, at length, “ this will 
answer ; ” and he drew from his waistcoat-pocket 
a scrap of what 1 took to be very dirty foolscap, 


16 


TIIE GOLD-BUG. 


and made upon it a rough drawing with the pen. 
While he did this, I retained my seat by the fire, 
for I was still chilly. When the design was 
complete, he handed it to me without rising. As 
I received it a loud growl was heard, succeeded by 
a scratching at the door. Jupiter opened it, and a 
large Newfoundland, belonging to Legrand, rushed 
in, leaped upon my shoulders, and loaded me with 
caresses; for I had shown him much attention dur- 
ing previous visits. When his gambols were over, 
I looked at the paper, and, to. speak the truth, found 
myself not a little puzzled at what my friend had 
depicted. 

^Well!” I said, after contemplating it for some 
minutes, “ this is a strange scarabceus, I must confess : 
new to me : never saw anything like it before, — 
unless it was a skull, or a death’s-head, — which it 
more nearly resembles than anything else that has 
come under my observation.” 

“ A death’s-head ! ” echoed Legrand — “ Oh — yes 
— well, it has something of that appearance upon 
paper, no doubt. The two upper black spots look 
like eyes, eh ? and the longer one at the bottom like 
a mouth, — and then the shape of the whole is 
oval.” 

“ Perhaps so,” said I ; “ but, Legrand, I fear you 


THE GOLD-BUG . 


17 


are no artist. I must wait until I see the beetle 
itself, if I am to form any idea of its personal 
appearance.” 

“Well, I don’t know,” said he, a little nettled, 
“I draw tolerably, — should do it at least, — have 
had good masters, and flatter myself that I am not 
quite a blockhead.” 

“But, my dear fellow, you are joking, then,” said 
I; “this is a very passable skull , — indeed, I may 
say that it is a very excellent skull, according to the 
vulgar notions about such specimens of physiology, — 
and your scarabceus must be the queerest scarabceus 
in the world if it resembles it. Why, we may get 
up a very thrilling hit of superstition upon this hint. 
I presume you will call the bug scarabceus caput 
hominis, or something of that kind, — there are many 
similar titles in the Natural Histories. But where 
are the antennae you spoke of?” 

“The antennce!” said Legrand, who seemed to be 
getting unaccountably warm upon the subject ; “ I 
am sure you must see the antennce. I made them 
as distinct as they are in the original insect, and I 
presume that is sufficient.” 

“Well, well,” I said, “perhaps you have, — still I 
don’t see them;” and I handed him the paper 
without additional remark, not wishing to ruffle his 


18 THE GOLD-BUG. 

temper ; but I was much surprised at the turn 
affairs had taken ; his ill-humor puzzled me ; and 
as for the drawing of the beetle, there were posi- 
tively no antennas visible, and the whole did bear 
a very close resemblance to the ordinary cuts of a 
death's-head. 

He received the paper very peevishly, and was 
about to crumple it, apparently to throw it in the 
fire, when a casual glance at the design seemed 
suddenly to rivet his attention. In an instant his 
face grew violently red, — in another as excessively 
pale. For some minutes he continued to scrutinize 
the drawing minutely where he sat. At length he 
arose, took a candle from the table, and proceeded 
to seat himself upon a sea-chest in the farthest cor- 
ner of the room. Here again he made an anxious 
examination of the paper, turning it in all directions. 
He said nothing, however, and his conduct greatly 
astonished me ; yet I thought it prudent not to 
exacerbate the growing moodiness of his temper by 
any comment. Presently he took from his coat- 
pocket a wallet, placed the paper carefully in it, 
and deposited both in a writing-desk, which he 
locked. He now grew more composed in his de- 
meanor; but his original air of enthusiasm had quite 
disappeared. Yet he seemed not so much sulky as 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


19 


abstracted. As the evening wore away he became 
more and more absorbed in revery, from which no 
sallies of mine could arouse him. It had been my 
intention to pass the night at the hut, as I had 
frequently done before, but seeing my host in this 
mood, I deemed it proper to take leave. He did 
not press me to remain, but, as I departed, he shook 
my hand with even more than his usual cordiality. 

It was about a month after this (and during the 
interval I had seen nothing of Legrand) when I 
received a visit, at Charleston, from his man, Jupiter. 
I had never seen the good old^egro look so dispir- 
ited, and I feared that some serious disaster had 
befallen my friend. 

“Well, Jup,” said I, “what is the matter now? — 
how is your master ? ” 

“Why, to speak de troof, massa, him not so berry 
well as mouglit be.” 

“Not well! I am truly sorry to hear it. What 
does he complain of?” 

“Dar! dat’s it! — him nebber ’plain of notin’, — 
but him berry sick for all dat.” 

“ Very sick, Jupiter! — why didn’t you say so at 
once? Is he confined to bed?” 

“No, dat he aint! — he aint fin’d nowliar, — dat’s 
just whar de shoe pinch, — my mind is got to be 
berry hebby ’bout poor Massa Will.” 


20 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


“Jupiter, I should like to understand what it is 
you are talking about. You say your master is sick. 
Hasn’t he told you what ails him ? ” 

“ Why, massa, taint worf while for to git mad 
’bout de matter, — Massa Will say noffin at all aint 
de matter wid him, — but den what make him go 
about looking dis here way, wid he head down and 
he soldiers up, and as white as a gose? And den 
he keep a-syphon all de time — ” 

“Keeps a what, Jupiter?” 

“Keeps a-syphon wid de figgurs on de slate, — de 
queerest figgurs I ebber did see. I’se gittin’ to be 
skeered, I tell you. Hab for to keep mighty tight 
eye pon him noovers. Todder day he gib me slip 
fore de sun up and was gone de whole ob de blessed 
day. I had a big stick ready cut for to gib him 
deuced good beating when he did come, — but Ise 
sich a fool dat I hadn’t de heart arter all, — he look 
so berry poorly.” 

“ Eh ? — what ? — ah yes ! — upon the whole I 
think you had better not be too severe with the 
poor fellow, — don’t flog him, Jupiter, — he can’t 
very well stand it, — but can you form no idea of 
what has occasioned this illness, or rather this 
change of conduct ? Has anything unpleasant hap- 
pened since I saw you?” 


THE GOLD-BUG . 


21 


“No, massa, dey aint bin noffin onpleasant since 
den, — ’t was fore den, I’m feared, — ’t was de berry 
day you was dare.” 

“How? What do you mean?” 

“ Why, massa, I mean de bug — dare now.” 

“The what?” 

“De bug, — I’m berry sartain dat Massa Will bin 
bit somewhere ’bout de head by dat goole-bug .” 

“And what cause have you, Jupiter, for such a 
supposition ? ” 

“Claws enuff, massa, and mouff too. I nebber 
did see sich a deuced bug, — he kick and he bite 
eberyting what cum near him. Massa Will cotch 
him fuss, but had for to let him go gin mighty 
quick, I tell you — den was de time he must ha’ 
got de bite. I didn’t like de look ob de bug mouff, 
myself, no how, so I wouldn’t take hold ob him wid 
my finger, but I cotch him wid a piece ob paper dat 
I found. I wrap him up in de paper and stuff piece 
ob it in he mouff, — dat was de way.” 

“ And you think, then, that your master was 
really bitten by the beetle, and that the bite made 
him sick ? ” 

“ I don’t tink noffin ’bout it, — I nose it. What 
make him dream ’bout de goole so much, if taint 
cause he bit by de goole-bug ? Ise heerd ’bout dem 
goole-bugs ’fore dis.” 


22 


TIIE GOLD-BUG. 


“ But how do you know lie dreams about gold ? ” 

“ How I know ? Why, ’cause he talk about it in 
he sleep, — dat’s how I nose.” 

“ Well, Jup, perhaps you are right ; hut to what 
fortunate circumstance am I to attribute the honor 
of a visit from you today ? ” 

“ What de matter, massa ? ” 

“ Did you bring any message from Mr. Legrand ? ” 

“ No, massa, I bring dis here pissel ; ” and here 
J upiter handed me a note which ran thus : 

My Dear : Wlw have I not seen you for so long a 

time ? I hope you ha/e not been so foolish as to take offence 
at any little brusqueme of mine ; but no, that is improbable. 

Since I saw you' I have had great cause for anxiety. I 
have something tojfell you, yet scarcely know how to tell it, or 
whether I shouWtell it at all. 

I have not been quite well for some days past, and poor old 
Jup annoys me, almost beyond endurance, by his well-meant 
attentions/* ’ Would you believe it? — he had prepared a huge 
stick, the other day, with which to chastise me for giving him 
the slip, and spending the day, solus , among the hills on the 
mainland. I verily believe that my ill looks alone saved me a 
flogging. 

I have made no addition to my cabinet since we met. 

If you can in any way make it convenient, come over with 
Jupiter. Do come. I wish to see you tonight, upon business 
of importance. I assure you that it is of the highest import- 
ance. * Ever yours, 

William Legrand. 

There was something in the tone of this note 
which gave me great uneasiness. Its whole style 
differed materially from that of Legrand. What 


■ ■w. 





“ AND HERE JUPITER HANDED ME A NOTE. 





















































































































































































































































































THE GOLD-BUG. 


25 


could he be dreaming of? What new crotchet pos- 
sessed his excitable brain ? What “ business of the 
highest importance ” could he possibly have to trans- 
act? Jupiter’s account of him boded no good. I 
dreaded lest the continued pressure of misfortune 
had, at length, fairly unsettled the reason of my 
friend. Without a moment’s hesitation, therefore, I 
prepared to accompany the negro. 

Upon reaching the wharf, I noticed a scythe and 
three spades, all apparently new, lying in the bottom 
of the boat in which we were to embark. 

“What is the meaning of all this, Jup?” I inquired. 

“ Him syfe, massa, and spade.” 

“Very true; hut what are they doing here?” 

“Him de syfe and de spade what Massa Will 
’sis’ ’pon my buying for him in de town, and de 
debbil’s own lot of money I had to gib for ’em.” 

“ But what, in the name of all that is mysterious, 
is your ‘ Massa Will ’ going to do with scythes and 
spades ? ” 

“ Dat’s more dan I know, and debbil take me if I 
don’t b’lieve ’t is more dan he know, too. But it’s 
all cum ob de bug.” 

Finding that no satisfaction was to be obtained 
of Jupiter, whose whole intellect seemed to be ab- 
sorbed by “de bug,” I now stepped into the boat 


26 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


and made sail. With a fair and strong breeze we 
soon ran into the little cove to the northward of 
Fort Moultrie, and a walk of some two miles brought 
us to the hut. It was about three in the afternoon 
when we arrived. Legrand had been awaiting us in 
eager expectation. He grasped my hand with a nerv- 
ous empressement which alarmed me and strengthened 
the suspicions already entertained. His countenance 
was pale even to ghastliness, and his deep-set eyes 
glared with unnatural lustre. After some inquiries 
respecting his health, I asked him, not knowing what 
better to say, if he had yet obtained the scarabceus 
from Lieutenant G . 

“ Oh, yes,” he replied, coloring violently, “ I got it 
from him the next morning. Nothing should tempt 
me to part with that scarabceus. Do you know that 
Jupiter is quite right about it?” 

“ In what way ? ” I asked, with a sad foreboding 
at heart. 

“In supposing it to be a bug of real gold .” He 
said this with an air of profound seriousness, and I 
felt inexpressibly shocked. 

“ This bug is « to make my fortune,” he continued, 
with a triumphant smile, “to reinstate me in my 
family possessions. Is it any wonder, then, that I 
prize it? Since Fortune has thought fit to bestow 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


27 


it upon me, I have only to use it properly and I 
shall arrive at the gold of which it is the index. 
Jupiter, bring me that scarabceus ! ” 

“What! de bug, massa? I’d rudder not go fer 
trubble dat bug, — you mus’ git him for your own 
self.” Hereupon Legrand arose, with a grave and 
stately air, and brought me the beetle from a glass 
case in which it was enclosed. It was a beautiful 
scarabceus , and, at that time unknown to naturalists, 
— of course a great prize in a scientific point of 
view. There were two round black spots near one 

extremity of the back, and a long one near the 

other. The scales were exceedingly hard and glossy, 
with all the appearance of burnished gold. The 
weight of the insect was very remarkable, and, taking 
all things into consideration, I could hardly blame 
Jupiter for his opinion respecting it; but what to 
make of Legrand’s concordance with that opinion I 
could not for the life of me tell. 

“ I sent for you,” said he, in a grandiloquent tone, 

when I had completed my examination of the 
beetle, — “ I sent for you, that I might have your 
counsel and assistance in furthering the views of 
Tate and of the bug — ” 

“ My dear Legrand,” I cried, interrupting him, “ you 
are certainly unwell, and had better use some little 


28 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


precautions. You shall go to bed, and I will remain 
with you a few days, until you get over this. You 
are feverish and — ” 

“Feel my pulse,” said he. 

I felt it, and, to say the truth, found not the 
slightest indication of fever. 

“ But you may be ill and yet have no fever. 
Allow me this once to prescribe for you.' In the 
first place, go to bed. In the next — ” 

“ You are mistaken,” he interposed ; “ I am as well 
as I can expect to be under the excitement which 
I suffer. If you really wish me well, you will re- 
lieve this excitement.” 

“ And how is this to he done ? ” 

“Very easily. Jupiter and myself are going upon 
an expedition into the hills, upon the mainland, and 
in this expedition we shall need the aid of some 
person in whom we can confide. You are the only 
one we can trust. Whether we succeed or fail, the 
excitement which you now perceive in me will be 
equally allayed.” 

“ I am anxious to oblige you in any way,” I replied ; 
“ but do you mean to say that this infernal beetle has 
any connection with your expedition into the hills?” 

“It has.” 

“ Then, Legrand, I can become a party to no such 
absurd proceeding.” 


TIIE G0LB-1WG. 


29 


“ I am sorry — very sorry, — for we shall have to 
try it by ourselves.” 

“ Try it by yourselves ! The man is surely mad ! — 
but stay! — how long do you propose to be absent?” 

“Probably all night. We shall, start immediately, 
and be back, at all events, by sunrise. 

“ And will you promise me, upon your honor, that 
when this freak of yours is over, and the bug busi- 
ness (good God ! ) settled to your satisfaction, you will 
then return home and follow my advice implicitly, 
as that of your physician ? ” 

“Yes; I promise; and now let us be off, for we 
have no time to lose.” 

With a. heavy heart I accompanied my friend. We 
started about four o’clock, — Legrand, Jupiter, the dog, 
and myself. Jupiter had with him the scythe and 
spades, the whole of which he insisted upon carry- 
ing, — more through fear, it seemed to me, of trusting 
either of the implements within reach of his master 
than from any excess of industry or complaisance. 
His demeanor was dogged in the extreme, and “dat 
deuced bug ” were the sole words which escaped his 
lips during the journey. For my own part, I had 
charge of a couple of dark-lanterns, while Legrand 
contented himself with the scarabceus, which he 
carried attached to the end of a bit of whip-cord; 


30 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


twirling it to and fro, with the air of a conjurer, as 
he went. When I observed this last plain evidence 
of my friend’s aberration of mind, I could scarcely 
refrain from tears. I thought it best, however, to 
humor his fancy, at least for the present, or until I 
could adopt some more energetic measures with a 
chance of success. In the mean time I endeavored, 
hut all in vain, to sound him in regard to the object 
of the expedition. Having succeeded in inducing me 
to accompany him, he seemed unwilling to hold con- 
versation upon any topic of minor importance, and 
to all my questions vouchsafed no other reply than 
“ we shall see ! ” 

We crossed the creek at the head of the island by 
means of a skiff, and, ascending the high grounds 
on the shore of the mainland, proceeded in a north- 
westerly direction, through a tract of country exces- 
sively wild and desolate, where no trace of a human 
footstep was to be seen. Legrand led the way with 
decision, pausing only for an instant, here and there, 
to consult what appeared to be certain landmarks 
of his own contrivance upon a former occasion. 

In this manner we journeyed for about two hours, 
and the sun was just setting when we entered a 
region infinitely more dreary than any yet seen. It 
was a species of table-land, near the summit of an 


THE GOLD-BUG . 


31 


almost inaccessible hill, densely wooded from base 
to pinnacle, and interspersed with huge crags that 
appeared to lie loosely upon the soil, and in many 
cases were prevented from precipitating themselves 
into the valleys below, merely by the support of the 
trees against which they reclined. Deep ravines, in 
various directions, gave an air of still sterner solemnity 
to the scene. 

The natural platform to which we had clambered 
was thickly overgrown with brambles, through which 
we soon discovered that it would have been impossi- 
ble to force our way but for the scythe; and Jupiter, 
by direction of his master, proceeded to clear for us 
a path to the foot of an enormously tall tulip-tree, 
which stood, with some eight or ten oaks, upon the 
level, and far surpassed them all, and all other trees 
which I had then ever seen, in the beauty of its 
foliage and form, in the wide spread of its branches, 
and in the general majesty of its appearance. When 
we reached this tree, Legrand turned to Jupiter, and 
asked him if he thought he could climb it. The old 
man seemed a little staggered by the question, and 
for some moments made no reply. At length he 
approached the huge trunk, walked slowly around 
it, and examined it with minute attention. When 
he had completed his scrutiny, he merely said: — 


32 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


“Yes, massa, Jup climb any tree lie ebber see in 
he life.” 

“ Then up with you as soon as possible, for it 
will soon be too dark to see what we are about.” 

“How far mus’ go up, massa?” inquired Jupiter. 

“Get up the main trunk first, and then I will 
tell you which way to go — and here — stop! take 
this beetle with you.” 

“De bug, Massa Will! — de goole bug!” cried the 
l^egro, drawing back in dismay — “ what for mus’ 
tote de bug way up de tree ? d — n if I do ! ” 

“If you are afraid, Jup, a great big^egro like 
you, to take hold of a harmless little dead beetle, 
why, you can carry it up by this string ; but, if you 
do not take it up with you in some way, I shall be 
under the necessity of breaking your head with this 
shovel.” 

“What de matter now, massa?” said Jup, evi- 
dently shamed into compliance ; “ always want for to 
raise fuss wid old nigger. Was only funnin’ any- 
how. Me feered de bug ! What I keer for de 
bug ? ” Here he took cautiously hold of the extreme 
end of the string, and, maintaining the insect as far 
from his person as circumstances would permit, pre- 
pared to ascend the tree. 

In youth, the tulip-tree, or Liriodendron tulipi- 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


33 


ferum , the most magnificent of American foresters, 
has a trunk peculiarly smooth, and often rises to a 
great height without lateral branches ; but, in its 
riper age, the bark becomes gnarled and uneven, 
while many short limbs make their appearance on 
the stem. Thus the difficulty of ascension, in the 
present case, lay more in semblance than in reality. 
Embracing the huge cylinder, as closely as possible, 
with his arms and knees, seizing with his hands 
some projections, and resting his naked toes upon 
others, Jupiter, after one or two narrow escapes from 
falling, at length wriggled himself into the first great 
fork, and seemed to consider the whole business as 
virtually accomplished. The risk of the achievement 
was, in fact, now over, although the climber was some 
sixty or seventy feet from the ground. 

“ Which way mus’ go now, Massa Will ? ” he 
asked. 

“ Keep up the largest branch, — the one on this 
side,” said Legrand. The meg ro obeyed him promptly, 
and apparently with bdt little trouble ; ascending 
higher and higher, until no glimpse of his squat 
figure could be obtained through the dense foliage 
which enveloped it. Presently his voice was heard 
in a sort of halloo. 

“How much fudder is got for go?” 


34 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


“ How high up are you ? ” asked Legrand. 

“Ebber so fur,” replied the^egro; “can see de 
sky fru de top ob de tree.” 

“Never mind the sky, but attend to what I say. 
Look down the trunk and count the limbs below you 
on this side. How many limbs have you passed ? ” 

“ One, two, tree, four, fibe, — I done pass fibe big 
limb, massa, ’pon dis side.” 

“ Then go one limb higher.” 

In a few minutes the voice was heard again, an- 
nouncing that the seventh limb was attained. 


“ Now, Jup,” cried Legrand, evidently much excited, 
“I want you to work your way out upon that limb 
as far as you can. If you see anything strange, let 
me know.” 

By this time what little doubt I might have enter- 
tained of my poor friend’s insanity was put finally at 
rest. I had no alternative but to conclude him 
stricken with lunacy, and I became seriously anxious 
about getting him home. While I was pondering 
upon what was best to be done, Jupiter’s voice was 
again heard. 

“ Mos’ feerd for to ventur’ ’pon dis limb berry far, 
— ’t is dead limb putty much all de way.” 

“Did you say it was a dead limb, Jupiter?” cried 
Legrand, in a quavering voice. 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


35 


“Yes, massa, him dead as de door-nail — done up 
for sartain — done departed dis here life.” 

“ What in the name of Heaven shall I do ? ” asked 
Legrand, seemingly in the greatest distress. 

“ Do ! ” said I, glad of an opportunity to interpose 
a word; “why, come home and go to bed. Come, 
now ! — that’s a fine fellow. It’s getting late, and, 
besides, you remember your promise.” 

“Jupiter,” cried he, without heeding me in the 
least, “ do you hear me ? ” 

“ Yes, Massa Will, hear you ebber so plain. 

“Try the wood well, then, with your knife, and 
see if you think it very rotten.” 

“ Him rotten, massa, sure nuff,” replied the ^egro 
in a few moments, “ but not so berry rotten as 
mought ‘be. Mought ventur’ out leetle way ’pon de 
limb by myself, dat’s true.” 

“By yourself! — what do you mean?” 

“ Why, I mean de bug. ’Tis berry hebby bug. 
S’pose I drop him down fuss, and den de limb won’t 
break wid just de weight ob one nigger.” 

“ You infernal scoundrel ! ” cried Legrand, appar- 
ently much relieved, “what do you mean by telling 
me such nonsense as that? As sure as you drop 
that beetle I’ll break your neck. Look here, Jupiter, 
do you hear me?” 


36 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


“ Yes, massa, needn’t hollo at poor nigger dat style.” 
“Well! now listen! — if you will venture out on 
the limb as far as you think safe, and not let go 
the beetle, I’ll make you a present of a silver dollar 
as soon as you get down.” 

f “I’m gwine, Massa Will, — ’deed I is,” replied the 
egro very promptly, — “ mos’ out to the eend now.” 
“Out to the end!” here fairly screamed Legrand; 
“do you say you are out to the end of that limb?” 

“Soon he to de eend, massa, — o-o-o-o-oh! Lor-gol- 
a-marcy! what is dis here ’pon de tree?” 

“Well!” cried Legrand, highly delighted, “what 
is it?” 

“Why, taint noffin but a skull — somebody bin 
lef’ him head up de tree, and de crows done gobble 
ebery bit ' oh de meat off.” 

“ A skull, you say ! very well ! — how is it fastened 
to the limb ? — what holds it on ? ” 

“Sure nuff, massa; mus’ look. Why, dis berry 
curous sarcumstance, ’pon my word, — dare’s a great 
big nail in de skull, what fastens ob it on to de 
tree.” 

“Well, now, Jupiter, do exactly as I tell you, — do 
you hear?” 

“Yes, massa.” 

“Pay attention, then! — find the left eye of the 
skull.” 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


37 


“Hum! hoo! dat’s good! why, dare aint no eye 
lef at all.” 

“Curse your stupidity! do you know your right 
hand from your left ? ” 

“Yes, I nose dat, — nose all ’bout dat, — ’tis my 
lef hand what I chops de wood wid.” 

“To be sure! you are left-handed; and your left 
eye is on the same side as your left hand. Now, I 
suppose, you can find the left eye of the skull, or 
the place where the left eye has been. Have you 
found it?” 

Here was a long pause. At length the /ftegro 
asked : — » 

“Is de lef eye of de skull ’pon de same side as 
de lef hand of de skull too ? — ’cause de skull aint 
not got a bit ob a hand at all, — nebber mind ! I 
got de lef’ eye now, — here de lef’ eye ! what mus’ 
do wid it ? ” 

“ Let the beetle drop through it, as far as the 
string will reach, — but be careful and not let go 
your hold of the string.” 

“All dat done, Massa Will; mighty easy ting for 
to put de bug fru de hole, — look out for him dare 
below ! ” 

During this colloquy no portion of Jupiter’s person 
could be seen; but the beetle, which he had suffered 


38 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


to descend, was now visible at the end of the string, 
and glistened, like a globe of burnished gold, in the 
last rays of the setting sun, some of which still 
faintly illumined the eminence upon which we stood. 

The scarabceus hung quite clear of any branches, 
and, if allowed to fall, would have fallen at our 
feet. Legrand immediately took the scythe, and 
cleared with it a circular space, three or four yards 
in diameter, just beneath the insect, and having 
accomplished this, ordered Jupiter to let go the 
string and come down from the tree. 

Driving a peg, with great nicety, into the ground, 
at the precise spot where the beetle fell, my friend 
now produced from his pocket a tape-measure. Fas- 
tening one end of this at that point of the trunk of 
the tree which was nearest the peg, he unrolled it 
till it reached the peg, and thence farther unrolled 
it, in the direction already established by the two 
points of the tree and the peg, for the distance of 
fifty feet, — Jupiter clearing away the brambles with 
the scythe. At the spot thus attained a second peg 
was driven, and about this, as a centre, a rude circle, 
about four feet in diameter, described. Taking now 
a spade himself, and giving one to Jupiter and one 
to me, Legrand begged us to set about digging as 
quickly as possible. 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


39 


To speak the truth, I had no especial relish for 
such amusement at any time, and, at that particular 
moment, would most willingly have declined it; for 
the night was coming on, and I felt much fatigued 
with the exercise already taken; but I saw no mode 
of escape, and was fearful of disturbing my poor 
friend’s equanimity by a refusal. Could I have 
depended, indeed, upon Jupiter’s aid, I would have 
had no hesitation in attempting to get the lunatic 
home by force; but I was too well assured of the 
old negro’s disposition, to hope that he would assist 
me, under any circumstances, in a personal contest 
with his master. I made no doubt that the latter 
had been infected with some of the innumerable 
Southern superstitions about money buried, and that 
his fantasy had received confirmation by the finding 
of the scarabceus, or, perhaps, by Jupiter’s obstinacy 
in maintaining it to be “a bug of real gold.” A 
mind disposed to lunacy would readily be led away 
by such suggestions, — especially if chiming in with 
favorite preconceived ideas, — and then I called to 
mind the poor fellow’s speech about the beetle’s 
being “the index of his fortune.” Upon the whole, 
I was sadly vexed and puzzled, but, at length, I 
concluded to make a virtue of necessity, — to dig 
with a good will, and thus the sooner to convince 


40 


THE GOLD-BUG . 


the visionary, by ocular demonstrations, of the fallacy 
of the opinions he entertained. 

The lanterns having been lit, we all fell to work 
with a zeal worthy a more rational cause; and, as 
the glare fell upon our persons and implements, I 
could not help thinking how picturesque a group we 
composed, and how strange and suspicious our labors 
must have appeared to any interloper who, by chance, 
might have stumbled upon our whereabouts. 

We dug very steadily for two hours. Little was 
said; and our chief embarrassment lay in the yelp- 
ings of the dog, who took exceeding interest in our 
proceedings. He at length became so obstreperous 
that we grew fearful of his giving the alarm to 
some stragglers in the vicinity, — or, rather, this was 
the apprehension of Legrand; — for myself, I should 
have rejoiced at any interruption which might have 
enabled me to get the wanderer home. The noise 
was, at length, very effectually silenced by Jupiter, 
who, getting out of the hole with a dogged air of 
deliberation, tied the brute’s mouth up with one of 
his suspenders, and then returned, with a grave 
chuckle, to his task. 

When the time mentioned had expired, we had 
reached a depth of five feet, and yet no signs of 
any treasure became manifest. A general pause 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


41 


ensued, and I began to hope that the farce was at 
an end. Legrand, however, although evidently much 
disconcerted, wiped his brow thoughtfully, and recom- 
menced. We had excavated the entire circle of four 
feet diameter, and now we slightly enlarged the 
limit, and went to the farther depth of two feet. 
Still nothing appeared. The gold-seeker, whom I 
sincerely pitied, at length clambered from the pit, 
with the bitterest disappointment imprinted upon 
every feature, and proceeded, slowly and reluctantly, 
to put on his coat, which he had thrown off at the 
beginning of his labor. In the mean time I made 
no remark. Jupiter, at a signal from his master, 
began to gather up his tools. This done, and the 
dog having been unmuzzled, we turned in profound 
silence towards home. 

We had taken, perhaps, a dozen steps in this 
direction, when, with a loud oath, Legrand strode up 
to Jupiter, and seized him by the collar. The aston- 
ished migro opened his eyes and mouth to the fullest 
extent/let fall the spades, and fell upon his knees. 

“You scoundrel,” said Legrand, hissing out the syl- 
lables from between his clenched teeth, — “you in- 
fernal black villain! — speak, I tell you! — answer 
me this instant, without prevarication! — which — 
which is your left eye?” 


42 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


“ Oh, my golly, Massa Will ! aint dis here my lef 
eye for sartain?” roared the terrified Jupiter, placing 
his hand upon his right organ of vision, and holding 
it there with a desperate pertinacity, as if in imme- 
diate dread of his master’s attempt at a gouge. 

“ I thought so ! — I knew it ! hurrah ! ” vociferated 
Legrand, letting the Wegro go, and executing a series 
of curvets and caracoles, much to the astonishment of 
his valet, who, arising from his knees, looked, mutely, 
from his master to myself, and then from myself to 
his master. 

“ Come ! we must go hack,” said the latter, “ the 
game’s not up yet.” And he again led the way to 
the tulip-tree. 

“ Jupiter,” said he, when we reached its foot, 
“ come here ! Was the skull nailed to the limb with 
the face outwards, or with the face to the limb ? ” 

“De face was out, massa, so dat de crows could 
get at de eyes good, widout any trouble.” 

“ Well, then, was it this eye or that through which 
you dropped the beetle ? ” — here Legrand touched 
each of Jupiter’s eyes. 

“ ’Tas dis eye, massa, — de lef eye, — jis as you 
tell me,” and here it was his right eye that the 
Hnegro indicated. 

1 “That will do, — we must try it again.” 



“‘YOU SCOUNDREL,’ SAID LEGRAND, ‘WHICH IS YOUR 

LEFT EYE.’” 






























I 












THE GOLD-BUG. 


45 


Here my friend, about whose madness I now saw, 
or fancied that I saw, certain indications of method, 
removed the peg which marked the spot where the 
beetle fell, to a spot about three inches to the west- 
ward of its forme*’ position. Taking, now, the tape- 
measure from the nearest point of the trunk to the 
peg, as- before, and continuing the extension in a 
straight line to the distance of fifty feet, a spot was 
indicated, removed, by several yards, from the point 
at which we had been digging. 

Around the new position a circle, somewhat larger 
than in the former instance, was now described, and 
we again set to work with the spades. I was dread- 
fully weary, but, scarcely understanding what had 
occasioned the change in my thoughts, I felt no 
longer any great aversion from the labor imposed. 
I had become most unaccountably interested, — nay, 
even excited. Perhaps there was something, amid 
all the extravagant demeanor of Legrand, — some air 
of forethought, or of deliberation, — which impressed 
me. I dug eagerly, and now and then caught myself 
actually looking, with something that very much re- 
sembled expectation, for the fancied treasure, the 
vision of which had demented my unfortunate com- 
panion. At a period when such vagaries of thought 
most fully possessed me, and when we had been at 


46 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


work perhaps an hour and a half, we were again 
interrupted by the violent howlings of the dog. His 
uneasiness, in the first instance, had been, evidently, 
but the result of playfulness or caprice, but he now 
assumed a hitter and serious tone. Upon Jupiter’s 
again attempting to muzzle him, he made furious 
resistance, and, leaping into the hole, tore up the 
mould frantically with his claws. In a few seconds 
he had uncovered a mass of human bones, forming 
two complete skeletons, intermingled with several 
buttons of metal, and what appeared to be the dust 
of decayed woollen. One or two strokes of a spade 
upturned the blade of a large Spanish knife, and, as 
we dug farther, three or four loose pieces of gold 
and silver coin came to light. 

At sight of these, the joy of Jupiter could scarcely 
be restrained, but the countenance of his master wore 
an air of extreme disappointment. He urged us, 
however, to continue our exertions, and the words 
were hardly uttered, when I stumbled and fell for- 
ward, having caught the toe of my boot in a large 
ring of iron that lay half buried in the loose earth. 

We now worked in earnest, and never did I pass 
ten minutes of more intense excitement. During this 
interval we had fairly unearthed an oblong chest of 
wood, which, from its perfect preservation and won- 


THE GOLD-BUG . 


47 


derful hardness, had plainly been subjected to some 
mineralizing process, — perhaps that of the bi-chloride 
of mercury. This box was three feet and a half long, 
three feet broad, and two and a half feet deep. It 
was firmly secured by bands of wrought-iron, riveted, 
and forming a kind of open trellis-work over the 
whole. On each side of the chest, near the top, 
were three rings of iron, — six in all, — by means of 
which a firm hold could be obtained by six persons. 
Our utmost united endeavors served only to disturb 
the coffer very slightly in its bed. We at once saw 
the impossibility of removing so great a weight. 
Luckily, the sole fastenings of the lid consisted of 
two sliding bolts. These we drew back, — trembling 
and panting with anxiety. In an instant, a treasure 
of incalculable value lay gleaming before us. As the 
rays of the lanterns fell within the pit, there flashed 
upwards a glow and a glare, from a confused heap 
of gold and of jewels, that absolutely dazzled our 
eyes. 

I shall not pretend to describe the feelings with 
which I gazed. Amazement was, of course, predomi- 
nant. Legrand appeared exhausted with excitement, 
and spoke very few words. Jupiter’s countenance 
wore, for some minutes, as deadly a pallor as it is 


possible, in the nature of things, for 



48 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


visage to assume. He seemed stupefied, — thunder- 
stricken. Presently he fell upon his knees in the 
pit, and, burying his naked arms up to the elbows 
in gold, let them there remain, as if enjoying the 
luxury of a hath. At length, with a deep sigh, he 
exclaimed, as if in a soliloquy: — 

“ And dis all cum ob de goole-bug ! de putty 
goole-hug ! de poor little goole-hug, what I boosed in 
dat sahage kind ob style ! Aint you ’shamed ob 
yourself, nigger ? — answer me dat ! ” 

It became necessary, at last, that I should arouse 
both master and valet to the expediency of remov- 
ing the treasure. It was growing late, and it be- 
hooved us to make exertion, that we might get 
everything housed before daylight. It was difficult 
to say what should he done, and much time was - 
spent in deliberation, — so confused were the ideas 
of all. We finally lightened the box by removing 
two-thirds of its contents, when we were enabled, 
with some trouble, to raise it from the hole. The 
articles taken out were deposited among the brambles, 
and the dog left to guard them, with strict orders 
from Jupiter neither, upon any pretence, to stir from 
the spot, nor to open his mouth, until our return. 
We then hurriedly made for home with the chest; 
reaching the hut in safety, but after excessive toil, 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


49 


at one o’clock in the morning. Worn out as we 
were, it was not in human nature to do more imme- 
diately. We rested until two, and had supper ; start- 
ing for the hills immediately afterwards, armed with 
three stout sacks, which, by good luck, were upon the 
premises. » A little before four we arrived at the pit, 
divided the remainder of the booty, as equally as 
might be, among us, and, leaving the holes unfilled,^- 
again set out for the hut, at which, for the second 
time, we deposited our golden burdens, just as the 
first faint streaks of the dawn gleamed from over 
the tree-tops in the east. 

We were now thoroughly broken down ; but the 
intense excitement of the time denied us repose. 
After an unquiet slumber of some three or four 
‘ hours’ duration, we arose, as if by preconcert to make 
examination of our treasure. 



The chest had been full 


spent the whole day and the greater part of the next 
night in a scrutiny of its contents. There had been 
nothing like order or arrangement. Everything had 
been heaped in promiscuously. Having assorted all 
with care, we found ourselves possessed of even 
vaster wealth than we had at first supposed. In 
coin there was rather more than four hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars, — estimating the value of the 


50 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


pieces, as accurately as we could, by the tables of 
the period. There was not a particle of silver. 
All was gold of antique date and of great variety, — 
French, Spanish, and German money, with a few 
English guineas, and some counters, of which we 
had never seen specimens before. There were several 
very large and heavy coins, so worn that we could 
make nothing of their inscriptions. There was no 
American money. The value of the jewels we found 
more difficulty in estimating. There were diamonds, 
— some of them exceedingly large and fine, — a hun- 
dred and ten in all, and not one of them small; 
eighteen rubies of remarkable brilliancy; three hun- 
dred and ten emeralds, all very beautiful ; and 
twenty-one sapphires, with an opal. These stones 
had all been broken from their settings and thrown 
loose in the chest. The settings themselves, which 
we picked out from among the other gold, appeared 
to have been beaten up with hammers as if to pre- 
vent identification. Besides all this, there was a vast 
quantity of solid gold ornaments; — nearly two hun- 
dred massive finger- and ear-rings; — rich chains, — 
thirty of these, if I remember; — eighty-three very 
large and heavy crucifixes ; — five gold censers of 
great value; — a prodigious golden punch-bowl, orna- 
mented with richly chased vine-leaves and Baccha- 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


51 


nalian figures ; with two sword handles exquisitely 
embossed, and many other smaller articles which I 
cannot recollect. The weight of these' valuables ex- 
ceeded three hundred and fifty pounds avoirdupois; 
and in this estimate I have not included one hun- 
dred and ninety-seven superb gold watches; three of 
the number being worth each five hundred dollars, 
if one. Many of them were very old, and as time- 
keepers valueless; the works having suffered, more 
or less, from corrosion; but all were richly jewelled 
and in cases of great worth. We estimated the 
entire contents of the chest, that night, at a million 
and a half of dollars; and, upon the subsequent dis- 
posal of the trinkets and jewels (a few being retained 
for our own use), it was found that we had greatly 
undervalued the treasure. 

When, at length, we had concluded our examina- 
tion, and the intense excitement of the time had in 
some measure subsided, Legrand, who saw that I was 
dying with impatience for a solution of this most ex- 
traordinary riddle, entered into a full detail of all 
the circumstances connected with it. 

“You remember,” said he, “the night when I 
handed you the rough sketch I had made of the 
scarabceus. You recollect, also, that I became quite 
vexed at you for insisting that my drawing re- 


52 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


sembled a death’s-head. When you first made this 
assertion I thought you were jesting; but afterwards 
I called to mind the peculiar spots on the back of 
the insect, and admitted to myself that your remark 
had some little foundation in fact. Still, the sneer 
at my graphic powers irritated me, — for I am con- 
sidered a good artist, — and, therefore, when you 
handed me the scrap of parchment, I was about to 
crumple . it up and throw it angrily into the fire.” 

“ The scrap of paper, you mean,” said I. 

“No; it had much of the appearance of paper, 
and at first I supposed it to be such, but when I 
came to draw upon it, I discovered it, at once to be 
a piece of very thin parchment. It was quite dirty, 
you remember. Well, as I was in the very act of 
crumpling it up, my glance fell upon the sketch at 
which you had been looking, and you may imagine 
my astonishment when I perceived in fact, the figure 
of a death’s-head, just where, it seemed to me, I had 
made the drawing of the beetle. For a moment I was 
too much amazed to think with accuracy. I knew 
that my design was very different in detail from 
this, — although there was a certain similarity in 
general outline. Presently I took a candle, and seat- 
ing myself at the other end of the room, proceeded 
to scrutinize the parchment more closely. Upon 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


53 


turning it over, I saw my own sketch upon the re- 
verse, just as I had made it. My first idea, now, 
was mere surprise at the really remarkable similarity 
of outline, — at the singular coincidence involved in 
the fact that, unknown to me, there should have 
been a skull upon the other side of the parchment, 
immediately beneath my figure of the scarabccus, 
and that this skull, not only in outline, hut in size, 
should so closely resemble my drawing. I say the 
singularity of this coincidence absolutely stupefied 
me for a time. This is the usual effect of such 
coincidences. The mind struggles to establish a con- 
nection, — a sequence of cause and effect, — and, 
being unable to do so, suffers a species of temporary 
paralysis. But, when I recovered from this stupor, 
there dawned upon me gradually a conviction which 
startled me even far more than the coincidence. I 
began distinctly, positively, to remember that there 
had been no drawing upon the parchment when I 
made my sketch of the scarabceus. I became per- 
fectly certain of this ; for I recollected turning up 
first one side and then the other, in search of the 
cleanest spot. Had the skull been there then, of 
course I could not have failed to notice it. Here 
was indeed a mystery which I felt it impossible to 
explain ; but, even at that early moment, there 


54 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


seemed to glimmer, faintly, within the most remote 
and secret chambers of my intellect, a glow-worm- 
like conception of that truth which last night’s ad- 
venture brought to so magnificent a demonstration. 
I arose at once, and putting the parchment securely 
away, dismissed all further reflection until I should 
be alone. 

“ When you had gone, and when J upiter was fast 
asleep, I betook myself to a more methodical investi- 
gation of the affair. In the first place I considered 
the manner in which the parchment had come into 
my possession. The spot fahere we discovered the 
scarabceus was on the coast of the mainland, about a 
mile eastward of the island, and but a short distance 
above high-water mark. Upon my taking hold of it, 
it gave me a sharp bite, which caused me to let it 
drop. Jupiter, with his accustomed caution, before 
seizing the insect, which had flown towards him, 
looked about him for a leaf, or something of that 
nature, by which to take hold of it. It was at this 
moment that his eyes, and mine also, fell upon the 
scrap of parchment, which I then supposed to be 
paper. It was lying half buried in the sand, a 
corner sticking up. Near the spot where we found 
it, I observed the remnants of the hull of what ap- 
peared to have been a ship’s long-boat. The wreck 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


55 


seemed to have been there for a very great while; 
for the resemblance to boat timbers could scarcely 
be traced. 

“Well, Jupiter picked up the parchment, wrapped 
the beetle in it, and gave it to me. Soon afterwards 
we turned to go home, and on the way met Lieuten- 
ant G . I showed him the insect, and he begged 

me to let him take it to the fort. Upon my con- 
senting he thrust it forthwith into his waistcoat- 
pocket, without the parchment in which it had been 
wrapped, and which I had continued to hold in my 
hand during his inspection. Perhaps he dreaded 
my changing my mind, and thought it best to make 
sure of the prize at once, — you know how enthusi- 
astic he is on all subjects connected with natural 
history. At the same time, without being conscious 
of it, I must have deposited the parchment in my 
own pocket. 

“You remember that when I went to the table, 
for the purpose of making a sketch of the beetle, I 
found no paper where it was usually kept. I looked 
in the drawer, and found none there. I searched 
my pockets, hoping to find an old letter, when my 
hand fell upon the parchment. I thus detail the 
precise mode in which it came into my possession; 
for the circumstances impressed me with peculiar 
force. 


56 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


“No doubt you will think me fanciful, — but I 
had already established a kind of connection. I had 
put together two links of a great chain. There was 
a boat lying upon the sea-coast, and not far from 
the boat was a parchment — not a paper — with a 
skull depicted upon it. You will, of course, ask: 
‘Where is the connection?’ I reply that the skull, 
or death’s-head, is the well-known emblem of the 
pirate. The flag of the death’s-head is hoisted in 
all engagements. 

“ I have said that the scrap was parchment, and 
not paper. Parchment is durable, — almost imper- 
ishable. Matters of little moment are rarely con- 
signed to parchment; since, for the mere ordinary 
purposes of drawing or writing, it is not nearly so 
well adapted as paper. This reflection suggested 
some meaning — some relevancy — in the death’s- 
head. I did not fail to observe, also, the form of 
the parchment. Although one of its corners had 
been, by some accident, destroyed, it could be seen 
that the original form was oblong. It was just 
such a slip, indeed, as might have been chosen for 
a memorandum, — for a record of something to be 
long remembered and carefully preserved.” 

“But,” I interposed, “you say that the skull was 
not upon the parchment when you made the drawing 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


57 


of the beetle. How, then, do you trace any connec- 
tion between the boat and the skull, — since this 
latter, according to your own admission, must have 
been designed (God only knows how or by whom) 
at some period subsequent to your sketching the 
scarabceus ? ” 

“ Ah, hereupon turns the whole mystery ; although 
the secret, at this point, I had comparatively little 
difficulty in solving. My steps were sure, and could 
afford but a single result. I reasoned, for example, 
thus: When I drew the scarabceus, there was no 
skull apparent upon the parchment. When I had 
completed the drawing, I gave it to you, and ob- 
served you narrowly until you returned it. You , 
therefore, did not design the skull, and no one else 
was present to do it. Then it was not done by 
human agency. And nevertheless it was done. 

“At this stage of my reflections I endeavored to 
remember, and did remember, with entire distinctness, 
every incident which occurred about the period in 
question. The weather was chilly (0 rare and happy 
accident !), and a fire was blazing upon the hearth. 
I was heated with exercise, and sat near the table. 
You, however, had drawn a chair close to the chim- 
ney. Just as I placed the parchment in your hand, 
and as you were in the act of inspecting it, Wolf, 


58 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


the Newfoundland, entered and leaped upon your 
shoulders. With your left hand you caressed him 
and kept him off, while your right, holding the parch- 
ment, was permitted to fall listlessly between your 
knees, and in close proximity to the fire. At one 
moment I thought the blaze had caught it, and was 
about to caution you, but, before I could speak, you 
had withdrawn it, and were engaged in its examina- 
tion. When I considered all these particulars, I 
doubted not for a moment that heat had been the 
agent in bringing to light, upon the parchment, the 
skull which I saw designed upon it. You are well 
aware that chemical preparations exist, and have ex- 
isted time out of mind, by means of which it is 
possible to write upon either paper or vellum, so that 
the characters shall become visible only when sub- 
jected to the action of fire. Zaffre, digested in aqua 
regia , and diluted with four times its weight of 
water, is sometimes employed; a green tint results. 
The regulus of cobalt, dissolved in spirit of nitre, 
gives a red. These colors disappear at longer or 
shorter intervals after the material written upon 
cools, but again become apparent upon the reapplica- 
tion of heat. 

“I now scrutinized the death’s-head with care. Its 
outer edges — the edges of the drawing nearest the 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


59 


edge of the vellum — were far more distinct than 
the others. It was clear that the action of the cal- 
oric had been imperfect or unequal. I immediately 
kindled a fire, and subjected every portion of the 
parchment to a glowing heat. At first, the only 
effect was the strengthening of the faint lines in the 
skull ; but, upon persevering in the experiment, there 
became visible, at the corner of the slip, diagonally 
opposite to the spot in which the death’s-head was 
delineated, the figure of what I at first supposed to 
be a goat. A closer scrutiny, however, satisfied me 
that it was intended for a kid.” 

“ Ha ! ha ! ” said I, “ to be sure, I have no right to 
laugh at you, — a million and a half of money is 
too serious a matter for mirth, — but you are not 
about to establish a third link in your chain, — you 
will not find any especial connection between your 
pirates and a goat, — pirates, you know, have nothing 
to do with goats ; they appertain to the farming in- 
terest.” 

« But I have just said that the figure was not 
that of a goat.” 

“ Well, a kid, then, — pretty much the same thing.” 

« Pretty much, but not altogether,” said Legrand. 
“You may have heard of one Cajptain Kidd. I at 
once looked upon the figure of the animal as a kind 


60 


THE GOLD-BUG . 


of punning or hieroglyphical signature. I say signa- 
ture, because its position upon the vellum suggested 
this idea. The death’s-head at the corner diagonally 
opposite had, in the same manner, the air of a stamp, 
or seal. But I was sorely put out by the absence 
of all else — of the body to my imagined instrument 
— of the text for my context.” 

“I presume you expected to find a letter between 
the stamp and the signature.” 

“ Something of that kind. The fact is, I felt irre- 
sistibly impressed with a presentiment of some vast 
good-fortune impending. I can scarcely say why. 
Perhaps, after all, it was rather a desire than an 
actual belief; — but do you know that Jupiter’s silly 
words, about the bug being of solid gold, had a re- 
markable effect upon my fancy ? And then the series 
of accidents and coincidences, — these were so very 
extraordinary. Do you observe how mere an accident 
it was that these events should have occurred upon 
the sole day of all the year in which it has been, 
or may be, sufficiently cool for fire, and that without 
the fire, or without the intervention of the dog at 
the precise moment in which he appeared, I should 
never have become aware of the death’s-head, and so 
never the possessor of the treasure ? ” 

“ But proceed, — I am all impatience.” 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


61 


“ Well ; you have heard, of course, the many stories 
current, — the thousand vague rumors afloat about 
money buried, somewhere upon the Atlantic coast, by 
Kidd and his associates. These rumors must have 
had some foundation in fact. And that the rumors 
have existed so long and so continuously could have 
resulted, it appeared to me, only from the ' circum- 
stance of the buried treasure still remaining entombed. 
Had Kidd concealed his plunder for a time, and 
afterwards reclaimed it, the rumors would scarcely 
have reached us in their present unvarying form. 
You will observe that the stories told are all about 
money-seekers, not about money-finders. Had the 
pirate recovered his money, there the affair would 
have dropped. It seemed to me that some accident 
— say the loss of a memorandum indicating its lo- 
cality — had deprived him of the means of recover- 
ing it, and that this accident had become known to 
his followers, who otherwise might never have heard 
that treasure had been concealed at all, and who, 
busying themselves in vain, because unguided, at- 
tempts to regain it, had given first birth, and then 
universal currency, to the reports which are now so 
common. Have you ever heard of any important 
treasure being unearthed along the coast?” 

“ Never.” 


62 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


“But that Kidd’s accumulations were immense, is 
well known. I took it for granted, therefore, that 
the earth still held them; and you will scarcely 
be surprised when I tell you that I felt a hope, 
nearly amounting to certainty that the parchment 
so strangely found involved a lost record of the 
place of deposit.” 

“ But how did you proceed ? ” 

“ I held the vellum again to the fire, after increas- 
ing the heat; but nothing appeared. I now thought 
it possible that the coating of dirt might have some- 
thing to do with the failure; so I carefully rinsed 
the parchment by pouring warm water over it, and, 
having done this, I placed it in a tin pan, with the 
skull downwards, and put the pan upon a furnace 
of lighted charcoal. In a few minutes, the pan 
having become thoroughly heated, I removed the 
slip, and, to my inexpressible joy, found it spotted, 
in several places, with what appeared to be figures 
arranged in lines. Again I placed it in the pan, 
and suffered it to remain another minute. Upon 
taking it off, the whole was just as you see it now.” 

Here Legrand, having reheated the parchment, sub- 
mitted it to my inspection. The following characters 
were rudely traced, in a red tint, between the death’s- 
head and the goat: — 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


63 


53JJf305))6*;4826)4J.)4J);806*;48f8^[60))85 ;1J) 

; : $*8f83(88)5*f ; 46(; 88*96*?; 8)*:f(;485); 5*f2 : *$(; 4 
956*2(5* — 4)8^|8*;4069285);)6f8)4JJ ; 1(J9; 48081 ; 
8:8$l;48t85;4)485f528806*81(t9;48;(88;4($?34;48 
)4$;161;:188;J?; 

“But,” said I, returning him the slip, “I am as 
much in the dark as ever. Were all the jewels of 
Golconda awaiting me upon my solution of this 
enigma, I am quite sure that I should be unable to 
earn them.” 

“And yet,” said Legrand, “the solution is by no 
means so difficult as you might be led to imagine 
from the first hasty inspection of the characters. 
These characters, as any one might readily guess, 
form a cipher, — that is to say, they convey a mean- 
ing ; but then, from what is known of Kidd, I could 
not suppose him capable of constructing any of the 
more abstruse cryptographs. I made up my mind, 
at once, that this was of a simple species, — such, 
however, as would appear, to the crude intellect of 
the sailor, absolutely insoluble without the key.” 

“And you really solved it?” 

“Readily; I have solved others of an abstruseness 
ten thousand times greater. Circumstances, and a 
certain bias of mind, have led me to take interest 
in such riddles, and it may well be doubted whether 


64 


THE GOLD- BUG. 


human ingenuity can construct an enigma of the 
kind which human ingenuity may not, by proper 
application, resolve. In fact, having once established 
connected and legible characters, I scarcely gave a 
thought to the mere difficulty of developing their 
import. 

"In the present case, — indeed in all cases of 
secret writing, — the first question regards the lan- 
guage of the cipher; for the principles of solution, 
so far, especially, as the more simple ciphers are con- 
cerned, depend upon, and are varied by, the genius of 
the particular idiom. In general, there is no alterna- 
tive but experiment (directed by probabilities), of 
every tongue known to him who attempts the solu- 
tion, until the true one be attained. But, with the 
cipher now before us, all difficulty was removed by 
the signature. The pun upon the word ‘ Kidd ’ is 
appreciable in no other language than the English. 
But for this consideration I should have begun my 
attempts with the Spanish and French, as the tongues 
in which a secret of this kind would most naturally 
have been written by a pirate of the Spanish main. 
As it was, I assumed the cryptograph to be English. 

“ You observe there are no divisions between the 
words. Had there been divisions, the task would 
have been comparatively easy. In such case I 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


65 


should have commenced with a collation and analy- 
sis of the shorter words, and, had a word of a single 
letter occurred, as is most likely (a or /, for example), 
I should have considered the solution as assured. 
But, there being no division, my first step was to 
ascertain the predominant letters, as well as the least 
frequent. Counting all, I constructed a table, thus : — 


Of the character 8 there are 33 


« 

« 

« 

it 

« 

u 

tt 

tc 

({ 

« 


“ 4 

" t) 

« * 

“ 5 

“ 6 

“ fl 

« 0 

“ 92 

“ : 3 

« ? 


u 

a 

u 

u 

« 

a 


26 

19 

16 

13 

12 

11 


8 


“ 6 

“ 5 

« 4 

« 3 


cc 

u 


t 


“ 2 


cc 


1 


a Now, in English, the letter which most frequently 
occurs is e. Afterwards, the succession runs thus: a 
oidbnrstuycfglmwbJcpqxz. E 
predominates so remarkably, that an individual sen- 


66 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


tence of any length is rarely seen, in which it is not 
the prevailing character. 

“Here, then, we have, in the very beginning, the 
groundwork for something more than a mere guess. 
The general use which may be made of the table is 
obvious ; but, in this particular cipher, we shall only 
very partially require its aid. As our predominant 
character is 8, we will commence by assuming it as 
the e of the natural alphabet. To verify the suppo- 
sition, let us observe if the 8 be seen often in 
couples, — for e is doubled with great frequency in 
English, — in such words, for example, as ‘meet,’ 
‘ fleet/ * speed/ ‘ seen/ ‘ been/ ‘ agree/ etc. In the pres- 
ent instance we see it doubled no less than five 
times, although the cryptograph is brief. 

“ Let us assume 8, then, as e. Now, of all words 
in the language, ‘the’ is most usual; let us see, 
therefore, whether there are not repetitions of any 
three characters, in the same order of collocation, 
the last of them being 8. If we discover repeti- 
tions of such letters, so arranged, they will most 
probably represent the word ‘the.’ Upon inspection, 
we find no less than seven such arrangements, the 
* characters being ;48. We may, therefore, assume 
that ; represents t, 4 represents h, and 8 represents e, 
— the last being now well confirmed. Thus a great 
step has been taken. 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


67 


“But, having established a single word, we are 
enabled to establish a vastly important point; that 
is to say, several commencements and terimhatipns 
of other words. Let us refer, for example, to the 
last instance but one, in which the combination ;48 
occurs, — not far from the end of the cipher. We 
know that the ; immediately ensuing is the com- 
mencement of a word, and, of the six characters 
succeeding this ‘the,’ we are cognizant of no less 
than five. Let us set these characters down, thus, 
by the letters we know them to represent, leaving a 
space for the unknown — 

t eeth. 

“Here we are enabled, at once, to discard the th, 
as forming no portion of the word commencing with 
the first t ; since, by experiment of the entire alpha- 
bet for a letter adapted to the vacancy, we perceive 
that no word can be formed of which this th can 
be a part. We are thus narrowed into 
t ee 

and, going through the alphabet, if necessary, as 
before, we arrive at the word ‘ tree,’ as the sole pos- 
sible reading. We thus gain another letter, r, repre- 
sented by (, with the words ‘the tree’ in juxtapo- 
sition. 

“Looking beyond these words for a short distance, 


68 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


we again see the combination ;48, and employ it by 
way of termination to what immediately precedes. 
We have thus this arrangement: — 
the tree ;4(J?34 the, 

or, substituting the natural letters, where known, it 
reads thus: — 

the tree thr\T5h the - . 

“ Now, if, in place of the unknown characters, we 
leave blank spaces, or substitute dots, we read thus : — 
the tree thr . . Ji the, 

when the word ‘ through ’ makes itself evident at 
once. But this discovery gives us three new letters, 
o, u, and g, represented by J, ?, and 3. 

“Looking, now, narrowly, through the cipher for 
combinations of known characters, we find, not very 
far from the beginning, this arrangement, 

83(88, or egree, 

which, plainly, is the conclusion of the word ‘ degree,’ 
and gives us another letter, d, represented by f. 

“Four letters beyond the word ‘degree,’ we per- 
ceive the combination 

;46(; 88*. 

“Translating the known characters, and represent- 
ing the unknown by dots, as before, we read thus : — 
th.rtee ., 

an arrangement immediately suggestive of the word 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


69 


‘thirteen/ and again furnishing us with two new 
characters, i and n, represented by 6 and *. 

“Referring, now, to the beginning of the crypto- 
graph, we find the combination, 

53Jtt- 

“Translating, as before, we obtain 
. good , 

8 

which assures us that the first letter is A , and that 
the first two words are ‘ A good/ 

“It is now time that we arrange our key, as far 
as discovered, in a tabular form, to avoid confusion. 
It will stand thus : — 

5 represents a 

f “ d 

8 “ e 

3 “ g 

4 “ h 

6 “ i 

* “ n 

J “ o 

( “ r 

; “ t 

? « u 

“We have, therefore, no less than eleven of the 


70 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


most important letters represented, and it will be 
unnecessary to proceed with the details of the solu- 
tion. I have said enough to convince you that 
ciphers of this nature are readily soluble, and to give 
you some insight into the rationale of their develop- 
ment. But be assured that the specimen before us 
appertains to the very simplest species of cryptograph. 
It now only remains to give you the full translation 
of the characters upon the parchment, as unriddled. 
Here it is : — 

“ ‘ A good glass in the bishop's hostel in the devil's 
seat forty-one degrees and thirteen minutes northeast 
and by north main branch seventh limb east side shoot 
from the left eye of the death's-head a bee-line from 
the tree through the shot fifty feet out'" 

“ But,” said I, “ the enigma seems still in as bad a 
condition as ever. How is it possible to extort a 
meaning from all this jargon about ‘devil’s seats/ 

‘ death’s-heads/ and ‘ bishop’s hotels’ ? ” 

“ I confess,” replied Legrand, “ that the matter still 
wears a serious aspect, when regarded with a casual 
glance. My first endeavor was to divide the sentence 
into the natural division intended by the crypto- 
graphist.” 

“You mean, to punctuate it?” 

“Something of that kind.” 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


71 


“But how was it possible to effect this?” 

“I reflected that it had been a point with the 
writer to run his words together without division, so 
as to increase the difficulty of solution. Now, a not 
over-acute man, in pursuing such an object, would be 
nearly certain to overdo the matter. When, in the 
course of his composition, he arrived at a break in 
his subject which would naturally require a pause, 
or a point, he would be exceedingly apt to run his 
characters, at this place, more than usually close to- 
gether. If you will observe the manuscript in the 
present instance, you will easily detect five such cases 
of unusual crowding. Acting upon this hint, I made 
the division thus : 

“ ‘ A good glass in the bishop's hostel in the devil's 
seat — forty-one degrees and thirteen minutes — north- 
east and by north — main branch seventh limb east 
side — shoot from the left eye of the death's-head — a 
bee-line from the tree through the shot fifty feet out'" 

“Even this division,” said I, “leaves me still in 
the dark.” 

“ It left me also in the dark,” replied Legrand, 
“ for a few days ; during which I made diligent 
inquiry, in the neighborhood of Sullivan’s Island, 
for any building which went by the name of the 
‘Bishop’s Hotel;’ for of course I dropped the obso- 


72 


THE GOLD-BUG . 


lete word ‘hostel.’ Gaining no information on the 
subject, I was on the point of extending my sphere 
of search, and proceeding in a more systematic 
manner, when, one morning, it entered into my 
head, quite suddenly, that this ‘ Bishop’s Hostel ’ 
might have some reference to an old family, of the 
name of Bessop, which, time out of mind, had held 
possession of an ancient manor-house, about four 
miles to the northward of the island. I accordingly 
went over to the plantation, and reinstituted my 
inquiries among the older negroes of the place. At 
length one of the most aged of the women said 
that she had heard of such a place as Bessop’s 
Castle , and thought that she could guide me to it, 
but that it was not a castle, nor a tavern, but a 
high rock. 

“ I offered to pay her well for her trouble, and, 
after some demur, she consented to accompany me 
to the spot. We found it without much difficulty, 
when, dismissing her, I proceeded to examine the 
place. The ‘ castle ’ consisted of an irregular' assem- 
blage of cliffs and rocks, — one of the latter being 
quite remarkable for its height as well as for its 
insulated and artificial appearance. I clambered to 
its apex, and then felt much at a loss as to what 
should be next done. 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


73 


“While I was busied in reflection, my eyes fell 
upon a narrow ledge in the eastern face of the rock, 
perhaps a yard below the summit upon which I 
stood. This ledge projected about eighteen inches, 
and was not more than a foot wide, while a niche 
in the cliff just above it gave it a rude resemblance 
to one of the hollow-backed chairs used by our 
ancestors. I made no doubt that here was the 
‘devil’s seat’ alluded to in the manuscript, and now 
I seemed to grasp the whole secret. 

“The ‘good glass,’ I knew, could have reference 
to nothing but a telescope; for the word ‘glass’ is 
rarely employed in any other sense by seamen. 
Now here, I at once saw, was a telescope to be 
used, and a definite point of view, admitting no 
variation, from which to use it. Nor did I hesi- 
tate to believe that the phrases, ‘forty-one degrees 
and thirteen minutes,’ and ‘northeast and by north,’ 
were intended as directions for the levelling of the 
glass. Greatly excited by these discoveries, I hurried 
home, procured a telescope, and returned to the rock. 

« I let myself down to the ledge, and found that it 
was impossible to retain a seat upon it except in 
one particular position. This fact confirmed my pre- 
conceived idea. I proceeded to use the glass. Of 
course, the ‘forty-one degrees and thirteen minutes’ 


74 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


could allude to nothing but elevation above the visi- 
ble horizon, since the horizontal direction was clearly 
indicated by the words, ‘northeast and by north.’ 
This latter direction I at once established by means 
of a pocket-compass ; then, pointing the glass as 
nearly at an angle of forty-one degrees of elevation 
as I could do it by guess, I moved it cautiously up 
or down, until my attention was arrested by a cir- 
cular rift or opening in the foliage of a large tree 
that overtopped its fellows in the distance. In the 
center of this rift I perceived a white spot, but could 
not, at first, distinguish what it was. Adjusting the 
focus of the telescope, I again looked, and now made 
it out to be a human skull. 

“Upon this discovery I was so sanguine as to 
consider the enigma solved; for the phrase, ‘main 
branch, seventh limb, east side,’ could refer only to 
the position of the skull upon the tree, while ‘ shoot 
from the left eye of the death’s-head ’ admitted, 
also, of but one interpretation, in regard to a search- 
for buried treasure. I perceived that the design was 
to drop a bullet from the left eye of the skull, and 
that a bee-line, or, in other words, a straight line, 
drawn from the nearest point of the trunk through 
‘the shot’ (or the spot where the bullet fell), and 
thence extended to a distance of fifty feet, would 



“ AND NOW I SEEMED TO GRASP THE WHOLE SECRET.” 


. 



TIIE GOLD-BUG. 


77 


indicate a definite point, — and beneath this point I 
thought it at least possible that a deposit of value 
lay concealed.” 

“All this,” I said, “is exceedingly clear, and, al- 
though ingenious, still simple and explicit. When 
you left the ‘Bishop’s Hotel,’ what then?” 

“Why, having carefully taken the bearings of the 
tree, I turned homewards. The instant that I left 
‘ the devil’s seat,’ however, the circular rift vanished ; 
nor could I get a glimpse of it afterwards, turn as I 
would. What seems to me the chief ingenuity in 
this whole business is the fact (for repeated experi- 
ment has convinced me it is a fact) that the circular 
opening in question is visible from no other attain- 
able point of view than that afforded by the narrow 
ledge upon the face of the rock. 

“ In this expedition to the ‘ Bishop’s Hotel ’ I had 
been attended by Jupiter, who had, no doubt, ob- 
served, for some weeks past, the abstraction of my 
demeanor, and took especial care not to leave me 
alone. But, on the next day, getting up very early, 
I contrived to give him the slip, and went into the 
bills in search of the tree. After much toil I found 
it. When I came home at night my valet proposed 
to give me a flogging. With the rest of the adven- 
ture I believe you are as well acquainted as myself.” 


78 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


“ I suppose,” said I, “ you missed the spot, in the 
first attempt at digging, through Jupiter’s stupidity 
in letting the bug fall through the right instead of 
through the left eye of the skull.” 

“ Precisely. This mistake made a difference of 
about two inches and a half in ‘ the shot,’ — that is 
to say, in the position of the peg nearest the tree; 
and had the treasure been beneath ‘the shot,’ the 
error would have been of little moment ; hut ‘ the 
shot,’ together with the nearest point of the tree, 
were merely two points for the establishment of a 
line of direction; of course the error, however trivial 
in the beginning, increased as we proceeded with the 
line, and by the time we had gone fifty feet threw 
us quite off the scent. But for my deep-seated im- 
pressions that treasure was here somewhere actually 
buried, we might have had all our labor in vain.” 

“But your grandiloquence, and your conduct in 
swinging the beetle, — how excessively odd ! I was 
sure you were mad. And why did you insist upon 
letting fall the bug, instead of a bullet, from the 
skull?” 

“Why, to be frank, I felt somewhat annoyed by 
your evident suspicions touching my sanity, and so 
resolved to punish you quietly, in my own way, by 
a little bit of sober mystification. For this reason I 


THE GOLD-BUG. 


79 


swung the beetle, and for this reason I let it fall 
from the tree. An observation of yours about its 
great weight suggested the latter idea.” 

“ Yes, I perceive ; and now there is only one point 
which puzzles me. What are we to make of the 
skeletons found in the hole?” 

“That is a question I am no more able to answer 
than yourself. There seems, however, only one plausi- 
ble way of accounting for them, — and yet it is 
dreadful to believe in such atrocity as my sugges- 
tion would imply. It is clear that Kidd, — if Kidd 
indeed secreted this treasure, which I doubt not, — 
it is clear that he must have had assistance in the 
labor. But, this labor concluded, he may have 
thought it expedient to remove all participants in 
his secret. Perhaps a couple of blows with a mat- 
tock were sufficient, while his coadjutors were busy 
in the pit; perhaps it required a dozen, — who shall 

ten?” 



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